2. Duke Blue Devils
Record: 11-1 (0-0 ACC)
Last Week: No. 2
I’m sorry, Duke fans. I was so incredibly close to moving the Blue Devils to the No. 1 spot this week but their resume, in my opinion, is just a touch below Michigan at this point in time. Having said this, though, the top three teams on this list could be seen as 1a, 1b, and 1c right now. They are simply that close in terms of these rankings. Each team can make a legitimate argument for why they belong at the top and Duke’s centers around the sheer talent level on the court.
With R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones leading the way, this Duke team not only has the most talented core in the country but also possibly the most potential. Each of these four freshmen should grow over the course of this season and they will only get better as the year goes on. That will make this team even more dangerous in March than they are now…and that is a scary thought.
To put it Duke’s dominance simply, they rank in the top-3 nationally in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. There have only been three teams in the KenPom era (since 2002) has been that dominant on both ends of the floor (2002 Duke, 2004 Duke, 2008 Kansas).